Live on board boat

eddudley

Recruit
Joined
Oct 18, 2017
Messages
3
Hello. I am getting some insurance money soon and wanted to buy a yacht to live on and maybe rent out for weekend getaways every once in a while. The yacht will be docked 90% of the time and I was wondering if I needed insurance for it. I will pay cash and won?t have any loans or liens. Also, looking to hire a captain when taking it out.

Thanks
 

H20Rat

Vice Admiral
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
5,199
Need way more info... Where, what type of insurance, financial situation, where are you docking it, what kind of boat?

You are going to rent it out and you are asking if you need insurance? I could stop right there...

Also, pretty much every marina in the US is going to require you to have insurance if you have a rented slip. Something about you doing something stupid and burning down all the neighboring boats next to you.
 

Ned L

Commander
Joined
Sep 17, 2008
Messages
2,266
I would say hull insurance is up to you, but EVERYONE should have liability insurance.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
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Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,297
welcome aboard.....

yes, you need insurance, in many states just to register it, you need insurance

if you rent it out, you need extra insurance that specifically allows you to rent it out.

if you are in a slip, you need insurance
 

Grub54891

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
5,908
Yes, you need insurance just to have a slip at a marina.It's a requirement. If you "bump" another boat, the damage may not look like much, but it will be expensive to repair. If someone bumps you, let the insurance company fight it out. Renting out a boat of any size, opens up a whole mess of liability. we don't rent out our cabin, for fear of someone getting hurt, and then we will be liable.
 

eddudley

Recruit
Joined
Oct 18, 2017
Messages
3
Thanks for all the great responses! I will contact my local marina for further details.
 

roscoe

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Oct 30, 2002
Messages
21,657
You should be contacting your lawyer and a good cpa/financial advisor and possibly a business manager.

Taking legal advice from a marina clerk is like taking auto repair advice from a veterinarian.
 

southkogs

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 7, 2010
Messages
14,785
Yacht sometimes means different things to different people - what size boat are you looking at getting? "Hiring a captain" to take it out suggests you're looking at something pretty big - suggesting to me you may be jumping in on the half-million plus end of the financial scale. At that point, I would take Roscoe's advice with a little more consideration. There are a lot of things that come into play at that level.

If you're down a few hundred grand, then maybe not as much ... (said like I've ever owned anything more expensive than about $6k :facepalm:)
 

Boydski

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Mar 21, 2008
Messages
46
Lots of good advice above. You will definitely need to have insurance, but the good news is that boat insurance is generally much less expensive than comparable home owner's or car insurance.

If you are planning on Chartering the boat, insurance is more expensive due to the increased liability, but can be offset by tax savings. Many large yacht owners in my area have their boats available for bareboat charter (with or without a captain). That essentially allows them to write off the bulk of the cost of maintaining their boats as a business expense. Maintaining a yacht in charter ready condition is usually a large expense, and those boats are typically professionally maintained as part of a Charter Fleet. In other words, the owners only use them a few weeks out of the year.

I also know owners that do occasional dinner cruises and such to offset costs, but it is very difficult to both live aboard a boat and make it available for charters.

If you live aboard full time, you tend to accumulate a lot of "stuff" on board that make the boat hard to charter. In other words, the boat tends to look more lived in than charter-ready.

Living aboard is a great experience and I highly recommend it. I would suggest putting the charter idea on a back burner until you get some time with the new boat and have a full understanding of what it costs and takes to maintain and operate it.

I'm curious as to where the boat might be located and what size boat you were thinking of?
 

Texasmark

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 20, 2005
Messages
14,544
If you are smart enough to earn enough to have the ability to pay cash for a yacht, one would think that you had enough business proxy to understand about having adequate insurance to cover your ass!
 

roffey

Commander
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
2,187
to answer the OPs question, absolutely you need insurance. You need insurance if your boat sinks and you have to pay get it off the bottom and pay the environmental cost to clean up. I would think you need liability insurance if you are hiring a captain and even more so if you have people who rent it. Where I am the deeper your pockets the higher the possibility of getting sued to lighten your bank account, lol.

I think your questions should be how much insurance to I need, what kind and who do I get it from.
 

shrew

Lieutenant
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
1,309
What you're proposing is operating a Charter Vessel and there are very specific requirements from the USCG regarding operating a charter. Amongst the many USCG requirements are a USCG license (OUPV or Master). You'll need an Epirb, highwater bilge alarms, liferaft........oh ya, and a 5 million dollar insurance policy. Do the research as there are many other requirements. You can't just AirBnB your boat to cover costs. Also be aware that not all marinas want commercial boats or charters in them.
 
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